Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach referred to the fact that he is taking legal advice from the Attorney General in respect of the two senior gardaí at the centre of the Charleton tribunal. In a general sense, would he accept there is an issue in the State where senior public servants whose performance has been less than satisfactory and, in some cases, grossly unsatisfactory, sail off into the sunset with large lump sums and generous public service pensions? Would the Taoiseach commit to exploring the possibility of ensuring that such pension benefits would be contingent on their satisfactory performance while they are in the job? This issue arises from time to time. It seems we are incapable of dealing with it and we need to introduce primary legislation to change the terms of employment for senior public servants.

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